Percy Jackson: Hero, Soldier, Spartan
by Anonymous Legacy
Summary: They threw him away and left him to the wolves. They didn't expect him to disappear, and they certainly didn't expect to need him again. 13 years later, a man descends from the heavens and carries with him their hope of salvation. Slight Halo crossover.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Hey guys! Well this is something I've had in my head for a while now, I'm just finally getting around to putting it on paper. Yes, this will be a slight Halo crossover, but will mainly focus on the Percy Jackson world. My first fanfic, so critic me to your heart's desire.**

**Disclaimer: Rick Riorden (that's how you spell his name right?) wrote the Percy Jackson series, and Microsoft 343 owns the rights to Halo. I don't own jack shit.**

It's funny. You wouldn't think at first that the sky is solid; something to be lifted, a massive object that bears an unimaginable weigh, where only the strongest can lift. You wouldn't think of this, especially when you're falling through the atmosphere at an altitude of twelve kilometers. You just... fall. Nothing to catch you, nothing to slow you down, nothing stopping you from an inevitable crash. Yet, he remembers. The near unbearable pain. The feel of the sky weighing down on his shoulders. They almost feel like wisps, the memories that is. There was another life he lived, prior to his present one as a soldier, as a Spartan. But that was the past. He moved on to more dire needs, like saving people, fighting the enemy, and in general surviving. Still, those memories. There is something about them that has always fueled him to go on, through the training, through the missions, through the mourning of the death of his comrades and innocents around him. Was it the pain caused by _their_ betrayals? Or was it perhaps the experience as the hero that lead him onward unto the breach?

The heat is irritating now. Burning through the atmosphere at a couple hundred kilometers an hour is bound to be un-enjoyable, even when clad in legendary MJOLNIR powered assault armor _and_ riding on a slab of grade-A titanium. Of course, he would have preferred using a orbital re-entry pack or a ODST drop pod, but sometimes you had to make due with what you had; in this case, a heavily damaged Pelican dropship and a prototype version of armor that was never previously tested. Real assuring. The pelican, doing little more than shield him from the worst of the heat, was damaged heavily to the point where it might of well have been a giant piece of metal floating downwards, Scratch that, _plunging_ downwards toward the ground was more like it. Once again, a memory resurfaced. This time, he was reminded of a terrible burning sensation while shooting through the air into the unknown. _It was some explosion_, he thinks, _something like that_. Odd how one can think of these things while going towards certain death. _But wait, that's right, Spartans never die_, the grey armored soldier thinks, _they're just missing in action_. Never allowed to die. Never allowed to rest in peace. Always fighting, but for what purpose? In the end, that's all they were, right? Expendable soldiers just fighting for someone else. That's how it always was and is. Fighting to protect someone else's life. _Then again,_ he mused, _that's what being a soldier was. Fighting for a purpose._

A shudder runs through the hull, shaking the lone Spartan out of his reverie. He looks out of the open back, the door long blasted off. He couldn't risk the heat sealing him inside the pelican. They were passing through the sky so quickly. The night sky, where the stars shown brightly. Stars. Something felt eerily familiar about this star system though. The constellations seemed foreign, yet so familiar. He would know, he used to be among them himself. The Spartan had a curious feeling that the sky wouldn't let him enter its domain, as if there was a jealous ruler guarding over it. The whole idea was ludicrous, but oddly enough seemed... real. Like he previously experienced it before. He knew deep down that he was merely trying to suppress the memories he sworn to let go of. The ones in the life before. The ones that caused him so much pain.

Refocusing on his surroundings, he checked his altitude in his HUD. 6,000 meters now, descending fast. He had to make the jump now or never, and risk going down with a potentially explosive Pelican, or at least the remains of one. Originally, he assumed that the ship could make it to the surface in one piece, therefore save himself the trouble of scouring for supplies. Passing the exo- and thermosphere, he started having doubts. Going through the mesosphere caused the seed of doubt to bloom, and now in the stratosphere he was quite sure the ship wouldn't make it. Given the circumstances, he chose jumping. The whole ship's frame was threatening to disintegrate as it was. Hell, it was a miracle that it was even holding together. He knew from the tales of senior Spartans he met from the Battle of Reach that he was incredibly lucky to even be on the dropship. Retrieving essential gear first, he made his way over to the open door. He packed as much as he could, as much spare ammunition as he could carry, as many weapons as he could. Oh, and don't forget the delectable MREs, couldn't forget those. The final selection of weapons included the trusty SRS99D-S2 AM rifle, a newer model of the battle rifle a.k.a. the BR55 Battle rifle, an M6D handgun, two scavenged Covenant energy swords (which, surprisingly, were still above three-quarters charge), a bubble shield generator, several grenades, and finally, his knife. The same one that carried him through so many campaigns, so many black operations. The same weapon he carried from the beginning, the same one that he kept as a reminder of his cruel past. He shouldn't have grown such an attachment to a expendable weapon, but he found that he just couldn't let go. _Sentiments could get in the way after all_, he supposed. But along with it he carried another one, this one a curved knife, known as a kukri. It once belonged to a friend, a comrade, but now he would put it to use and honor Emile-A239. Putting the weapons and ammunition in drop bags and munition boxes, he holstered his knives in their respective sheaths; one on his shoulder and one on his opposite side. He couldn't risk clipping the other weapons to himself though, as they would most likely detach from MJOLNIR's electromagnetic strips on impact.

Nearly 4,000 meters now. He crawled towards the open door now, the gee forces becoming too much for him to stay upright. Peering out over the edge, he could see that he was passing over land bordering a body of water. Based on his current trajectory, he would end up in the water if he didn't jump now, and a half-a-ton suit of MJOLNIR would most definitely sink before he could swim for land. Taking his chance now, the Spartan leaped from his position, carrying with him his equipment.

_Once more unto the breach I go._

As soon as he left the ship, he realized several things. One, the Pelican was much more damaged on the outside than he originally thought. Not only was it fully alight on fire, it was literally shedding its armor as if it was dandruff due to the extreme heat. How the autopilot managed to keep the ship upright, or at least from spinning out of control, was beyond him. The second thing he noticed was his velocity. Currently in the spread-eagle position, he mentally calculated that he was going roughly around 120 meters per second. From an elevation of about 3,500 meters up, he was going in for a hard landing. _Understatement much? _he thought.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. His new armor that he... _borrowed_ from Section three's lab under Menachite Mountain was supposedly a new version of Mjolnir that came with the latest state-of-the-art technology. At least that was what the AI, Kalmiya, had said before she fully enacted operation: White Glove. Of course, falling down from the sky would probably test the armor's true capabilities. According to the information he managed to glean from what existing data systems ONI still had, the armor he was currently wearing had been the new testbed for whatever new creation the egg heads had come up with. Among those egg heads was doctor Halsey herself. A bitch she may be, but she definitely knew her stuff. In fact, most of the new features were probably her ideas he guessed. The best way he describe the new armor was that it was like his old Headhunter armor and Mjolnir had a baby and this was the product. A new plasma-fusion hybrid reactor acted as the power core for this new Mjolnir, and along with it came better shields. That would be the key to his survival presently. Not only were the shields stronger and recharged faster, but they also had limited manipulation abilities. In other words, they could be somewhat shaped into, say, a para-sail. Perfectly convenient for someone who would unexpectedly fall out of the sky. Then again, the armor had not been field tested before, which meant it was quite possible that the power system could blow up right now and he would never know it was coming. MJOLNIR was tough, but withstanding a supersonic impact? Not that he really had an option though. Reach was soon to be glassed, the UNSC had been defeated _again_, the Covenant were trying to mine into the mountain for some reason, and on top of that, his Mark V MJOLNIR was badly damaged. And right there in front of him were some of ONI's newest gear. He couldn't let that all go to waste, now could he? With some assistance from Kalmiya, he outfitted himself with his newly _borrowed_ armor (seriously, it can't be stealing if no one else claims it, right?) along with some of the weapons he managed to find.

And somehow ended up in Earth's atmosphere. Or at least it _looked_ like Earth from his point of view. _Way up in the fucking sky_, he thought. He vaguely wondered for a moment if anyone could see him falling before brushing it off and refocusing on his current situation. He was currently moving towards what appeared to be the west coast of the North American continent near a mountain with a trove of trees in the area. Zooming in and activating the new VISR tech, he scanned the area for a suitable... well less crappy place to land. He would have to aim for the trees, he supposed. Hopefully smashing into some of them would lessen the speed of the crash to a more viable impact.

_Wait a moment,_ he thought. Looking back towards the mountain he saw a peculiar sight of what looked like a gathering of people and... monsters? He blinked twice and looked again. That can't be right, a group of humanoids and mythological creatures? _What the hell?_ Memories began to force their way up, most of them unpleasant. Unfortunately for the Spartan, he could not contemplate the meaning of this any further when he realized he was at 2,000 meters.

He would have to try out his shields now. Timing was key here; if projected too fast, he could dislocate his limbs because of the sudden catch. Activating his shields, he slowly projected them across his arms and legs so that it almost looked like he was a flying squirrel, albeit with glowing skin flaps. Looking at HUD, he noticed the armor systems were holding up, a good sign. His velocity slowed drastically, yet was still too fast for a human body to survive an impact. Good thing his augmentations reinforced his body, and was further protected by his armor. Still, coming in hot was not something he looked forward to. As the ground neared him, he braced himself by deactivating his shield and curling into a ball to reduce the chance of breaking something. Taking a deep breath and exhaling as far as he could, he locked his armor and braced for impact.

His shields flared as the trees clawed at him, and finally disappeared in one flash as he broke through several thick tree trunks and was flung out of his curled position into the ground. The Spartan tried to fight off the darkness trying to take hold of him, but found the disorientation to be too much for him to handle. With one last thought of pain, Noble Six fell unconscious. With the blackness came dreams. The dreams of long ago, of how this life started...

_Onyx. Training. Augmentations. Project: Chrysanthemum. Headhunters. Saber. ONI. Section three. UNSC. Insurrection. Covenant. Reach. Noble team. Jorge. Kat. Carter. Emile. Jun. Friends. Comrades. Spartans. M.I.A. Menachite mountain. Kalmiya. Halsey. A green crystal. Space. Pain. Pain. Pain._

Spartan- Beta 312 woke up.

**A/N: So, good? Bad? Tell me how I did and if I should continue this. I'm kinda busy most of the time, so don't expect frequent updates (unless you guys clearly show interest in this). I'm aware of how Halo centric this first chapter sounds, but trust me, it'll move on from here.**


	2. Chapter 2: A reflection

**Chapter 2: A reflection**

**A/N: Sorry guys, meant to get this up yesterday. This story got a lot more hits than I imagined, which is flattering. Not much happening in this chapter, it's really more of a filler.  
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Thalia woke up.

For a moment she forgot where she lay, believing that she was back in her tent among her sisters in the Hunt. She almost believed that she would be waking up to another day of hunting and training with Artemis, their patron. As her lieutenant, Thalia's responsibilities would include leading her fellow sisters and assist them whenever needed, but utmost importantly serve Artemis with unwavering loyalty. Just as Artemis gave them new life and _real_ purpose (living life as a tree and acting as a border for others didn't quite qualify), she would willingly give her life in return. As the immortal daughter of Zeus, she would also have to defend Olympus should the need ever call again. "Should" being the key word. Ever since the defeat of Gaia thirteen years ago, there was peace existing on Olympus and relative tranquility for demigods. She knew she had good friends to count on should she ever need help.

She forgot only for a moment.

The sound of yelling and the yanking of a insulated chain on her neck brought her out of her brief reverie. Refocusing her eyes, she instantly remembered her current less than ideal surroundings which took place inside a metal cage. Like an animal. The irony would have been amusing to Thalia had it been someone else inside that cage instead of a huntress. Those hunters being namely herself and her sisters. Looking upwards through the bars of her imprisonment, she realized from the position of the sun that it was nearly dusk, meaning she had gotten three hours of sleep. It also meant it was the time where the garden of the Hesperides was open to entrance. By extension, this also meant that the Mountain of Despair, where she and the other huntresses were imprisoned, was open to all who dared to come. Too bad no one dared to come for them. That, or her friends weren't reliable as she thought. She knew deep down inside that no one could and would rescue them. Maybe at another point in time during the past before _he_ disappeared, but no one anymore.

A repeated yelling by a dracanae added with another rough yank on her leash fully awoke the now gagging Thalia. Following the daily ritual they were forced to follow for the past month, she quickly picked herself up to prevent another beating. Normally, Thalia wouldn't bother following a monster's orders even if under torture, but it wasn't just her this time; she had to consider the her sisters' well being too. If one of them didn't follow the orders given to their enemy's satisfaction, the rest of them were punished. In a sickening and cruel sense, it was almost like being part of a team; if you lose, everyone else also loses. Only this time the losing team was usually her hunters and the loss included daily beatings to the point where some of her hunters lost body parts, like their eyes and maybe an ear or finger. As depressing and gruesome as that thought was, Thalia knew it was true. The beatings were becoming too much for them to handle, so the only way to prevent them was to work as a cohesive unit with her hunters and complete the directions given. She couldn't risk another life.

It was all her fault, or at least she felt like it was. As Artemis's lieutenant, she was supposed to be the one who took care of the hunt whenever Artemis was not around or if she could not help them for the time being. It was her responsibility to look after the hunters and care for their well being as they were under her charge. A leader, the right-hand of Artemis; that's what she was. She wasn't supposed to surrender to the enemy, and certainly never be captured and enslaved. For what purpose, she still did not fully know. For the past month, they had been forced to do mining work on Mount Tam and all the labors involved with it, meaning heavy lifting, digging in harsh conditions with simple tools, placing precious metals wherever wanted, that sort of thing. Her hunters could not keep up with it much longer, she could see it plain as day. Their eyes all carried a weariness which could only originate from intensive labour, something the thick mist wasn't even able to hide. Their slavers did little to help them. Other than the usual "motivation" they gave, all they did was yell, screech and mock them. From this alone, she would have blasted them to bits then go to Tartarus and mutilate them further if she could, but alas, she could not. It wasn't just the hunters she worried about.

As Thalia marched out of the cage as per usual with the others, she stole a quick glance at her sisters and tried to determine their conditions. They were holding up, but it wouldn't last long, that much was obvious. She could see the fire dying in some of the hunters eyes... if they still had any. She almost couldn't bear to see the pain anymore. Another torture for her to go through. They continued walking along the grove of trees, something which caused Thalia and the hunters to turn away and stare ahead of them. They knew what went on in the forest; the screams and disappearances of the hunters who went in were enough to confirm their fears. Every few nights or so, one of the hunters were forcefully taken out of their prison and sent into the wilderness... along with half a dozen nasty monsters. It seemed to be one of the monsters' new favorite pastimes: Hunting the hunter. When they were first captured, there were thirty three hunters in total. Presently, only twenty one relatively whole bodies were accounted for. A third of the hunt, gone. All in one month. The monsters took sadistic pleasure in tearing them apart and feasting on their flesh, knowing punishment would not await them any time soon. Normally, Artemis would have been the one to protect them, to organize a retaliation against the beasts should any of her hunters be hurt. Under her power, the hunters were generally safe in the forests as they were under their patron's domain. Unfortunately, Artemis was currently not capable of any action.

Shoved and pulled to go faster towards the mining grounds, Thalia was helpless as the monsters guarding them purposefully took the path which passed the contact point between the Earth and the Sky. Purposefully right under her Mistress's eyes, to mock her, as if saying she was helpless to do anything against them. Occasionally, they could hear the cruel dark laugh of Atlas as he relished his new found freedom. That was part of the reason they could not escape just yet. As long as Artemis was imprisoned, the hunters weren't going anywhere. It also worked the other way around. Thalia remembered the quest that first led her here almost a decade and a half ago. It was, interestingly, almost the exact same situation as the one now, except it was the whole hunt this time that was captured. She remembered the friends who stood by her side, the ones who fought until the end. The ones who fought against impossible odds and even held the weight of the sky. Annabeth. Artemis. Zoe.

Percy.

It had always baffled her how everything came to be. One moment a hero, the next a banished criminal. Before she knew it, one of her best friends disappeared off the face of the Earth. Of course, it could be said that it was partially her fault for doing so. She never forgave herself for taking part in the Hero of Olympus's exile. She wasn't thinking clearly at the time. She should have known that with wars came inevitable casualties; deaths in a war could not possibly fall on a single person's shoulders, even if they could bear the weight of the sky. They should have been thankful that only one died, not even if that only death was her little brother. But no. Blinded by hatred and driven by the need for vengeance, she agreed with the Olympians' vote to execute Perseus Jackson, the one man who dedicated so much for someone else's way of life. Oh, of course they all lied and accused him under false pretenses in order to kill the spawn of Poseidon, but no matter; in the end, over half the Olympians, enough to carry out Zeus's decree, voted to kill their savior and hero. She would never forget the anguished and broken look Percy gave off that haunted and crushed her from that day forth.

She knew they all had personal vendettas against her friend, but even so, she did not stand up for him. None of them did, or at least most of them didn't. How he managed to carry on was beyond all possible thoughts. To make it all worse, his last message haunted them even to this day. After he left Camp Half-blood, it was discovered that he left an iris message to be activated the moment someone searched his cabin. No one, not even Poseidon or Iris, knew how it was possible to leave a timed message while one's presence was not there. When Thalia, Annabeth, Nico, and the others ventured into his cabin for clues as to his whereabouts, they were shocked to find a mist of water floating in the center of cabin three emitting their former friend's voice. _"They used to call me a hero. Remember me."_ The words themselves were mysterious enough, but the truly surprising aspect of it all was the tone of his voice. It was unmistakeably Percy's, yet it contained no hatred, no happiness, no sadness; just cold, hard determination. Every night Thalia recalled his words and regretted her choice. Now, 13 years later, all she wished for was to have Percy return from his missing status quo in order to apologize. She still held onto the hope that he would come back for them.

Even in her current situation. Maybe, somehow, the hero himself would show up and save them, like he did so many years ago. He would be the only capable of this feat and the only one who would diligently work to save his friends against all possibility. But it was just a fantasy. Thalia doubted anyone would come for them, let alone the missing hero of Olympus. If anyone had a right to abandon them, it was him. She looked up at the rapidly darkening sky, staring at the faintly visible stars for a moment, before sighing in defeat. No one could help them now.

Then suddenly, she noticed an anomaly. Was it just her overworked mind playing tricks on her, or did the star of Zoe Nightshade's arrow head seem to glow brighter? Almost stopping for a second, she moved her head back down and kept shuffling her feet along the path before the monsters saw her stopping. Moving her eyes to look, Thalia blinked at the seemingly abnormal bright star in the twilight sky. Focusing in on it, the glow seemed to almost grow in size and intensity before winking out back to normal suddenly. She wasn't the only who noticed. The others noticed too, as well as some of the monsters. Most though, appeared to have dismissed it as nothing significant and continued with their given duties. Thalia, however, stared intently at the spot. That shining star wasn't just a normal occurrence or a natural phenomenon. She knew that Zoe's constellation did not simply take sudden changes in appearance. She was there when Artemis created it. So that left one question:

What was it?

The fact that it was positioned at the head of the Zoe's arrow was, for some reason, comforting. Thalia wasn't exactly what you would call superstitious, but perhaps a glowing star in her old friend's weapon was a sign of luck. Maybe they would catch a break and get out of here, or better yet, maybe it meant a savior was coming. It felt like a guardian angel over her as it glowed, some entity that would protect her from harm. At the thought of this, Thalia rolled her eyes at herself. _"Pshh, yeah right. Listen to yourself talk, Thalia Grace. Do you understand how ridiculous that sounds? Maybe if you wish upon a shooting star you'll be saved!"_ Thalia thought sarcastically to herself.

As it turned out, a small but bright light chose that moment to make its way through the sky. "What is this, have the Fates finally gotten a sense of humor now?" Thalia grumbled to herself.

The sun was at its last rays of light by now, and the hunters were nearly at the dig site. The heavy mist on the mountain coupled by the smell of eucalyptus trees (Thalia had never gotten used to the smell of cough drops) made everything seem peaceful. If it was not for the monsters constantly yelling and yanking on her electrically insulated chain, Thalia would have liked to lay down right there and watch the shooting star make its way across the rapidly dimming sky. "_Wait a minute_," Thalia thought. The "shooting star" was passing through the atmosphere at an almost lazy pace, to the point where Thalia could easily track its movements. She could almost make out the orange-red flames surrounding it which were probably caused by the friction in the air. And it was growing bigger.

Meaning it was coming right at them.

"So maybe wishes to come true," she mumbled to herself. However, she could contemplate the possible meaning no further as the monsters leading her suddenly stopped.

"Well, well, well. Looks like we have a special guest today," laughed the same dracanae that awoke them. All the rest of the monsters laughed along.

"_Huh?_" Thalia wondered.

With a start, she finally realized where her sisters and her were. They were currently standing just past the thick grove of trees and at the mouth of the cave where her hunters usually were sent in to dig. A crate of mining equipment, some polluted water and moldy food sat there as if expecting them to start their labors. Nothing out of the ordinary. Looking around, she finally spotted the unusual character walking up the path towards them. Or rather, heard_ them_ growling. A pang of fear went through Thalia as she suddenly noticed who the new players were. Huge, dark wolves emerged from the growing darkness, complete with snarling faces and blood red eyes. In front of them stood a tall, lanky man wearing a hood the covered all but the lower part of his face beneath his nose. He had a feral grin plastered to his face as if he was in reach of a long awaited prize. Despite his appearance, he released a vibe which screamed "Danger!" to Thalia. That's when she started to realize this man seemed eerily familiar. He gave off a monster aura that, to a hunter, felt exceedingly disturbing. The man lowered his hood to the monsters escorting them and spoke in a voice which sounded like metal scraping against gravel. "Hello there, my friends. I hear you have some high quality products that need to be dealt with soon before they rot. I don't suppose we could have a little... arrangement for some hungry travelers to be fed?" the stranger said while curving his lips upward in a manner which revealed sharp, bloodied _canines_ in his mouth. As he did so, he slowly turned towards the group of captured hunters, his blood red eyes glinting in the low light given off by the vanishing sun and the slowly falling star. "Hello, _girls_" the man spoke in a voice laced with false sweetness. "Looks like the coin is flipped, hasn't it?" he laughed. That's when Thalia came to the dreaded conclusion. That shooting star wasn't a lucky sign; it was an omen.

Lycaon and his pack were here. And he was staring straight at her.

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><p><strong>AN: Yeah, not much happening. ****Tell me how I did in the reviews and what you expect out of this story. ****I'm aiming for each chapter to be around 3000 words and updated weekly, although that may change depending how much time I have, popularity of this story, etc. March will be a _very_ busy month for me, so you might not see as many updates then. I'll try my best!  
><strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The girl who cried wolf**

**A/N: Yeah, that's right. I'm back. After a month. *sigh* Yeah, yeah, shut your damn whining and read the chapter already.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the _Percy Jackson and the Olympian_** **series, nor do I own the Halo franchise. They belong to Rick Riordan and Microsoft 343 respectively. Just a imaginative fan here.**

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><p>Tension was tangible in the misty air on top of Mount Tamalpis. It was no small fact that the hunters of Artemis hunted down many beasts and monsters, most of which were either predated enemies of the Gods or became one after they were killed. Lycaon and his wolves were just one of those many beasts which were hunted down, as they were deemed too dangerous to roam around. Having reformed during the Giant war, Lycaon was a terror that plagued the demigods and creatures who attempted to defy his patron, Gaia. One bite from his wolves could and would most likely result in the victim being infected and cursed into a werewolf state. Thalia's hunters and campers from both Roman and Greek descent had their shares of conflicts with Lycaon's pack. Throughout the several months of the Giant campaign and the fight against Gaia, the bloodthirsty werewolf pack clashed and eluded total defeat many times. It wasn't until the final confrontation of the gods and giants in Greece when Lycaon himself was shot three times by three silver arrows; once through his heart, another piercing the neck, and the final landing in his head, courtesy of Thalia herself. His body seemed to burn with cracks emitting sickly red lights from the wounds Thalia landed on him. He let out a hate filled howl before disintegrating. Well, honestly it was more like a small implosion. The hunters, campers, and deities figured it must have been the silver, as such a reaction was highly rare. Thalia vaguely remembered that it must have been luck that sided with her that day, which was what must've allowed her to make those shots. All that still stood out to her from that fight was her blood flowing out of her side, and Lycaon's claws that held a nice sized piece of her flesh. She fainted shortly after, but recovered to a more combat effective state when Apollo quickly spared some energy to heal her. He couldn't let Zeus's child die, now could he?<p>

After Lycaon's demise, the rest of the hunters made short work of the remaining members of his pack. They seemed to be greatly weakened without their leader, although some still escaped. Those escapees were mercilessly hunted down throughout the year after the bloody conflict. They made sure to exterminate those wolves to insure that they would harm _nobody_.

And now here they were, thirteen years later, at a completely different position. To see them already reformed was alarming. They should have stayed in Tartarus for another millennia or so, given the new security measures Hades put in place. The only way the monsters would have been freed from their imprisonment would be if...

Thalia could not contemplate the possible meaning of this any further, as she was interrupted by the glowing eyes of their enemies. The wolves eyed the humans hungrily with blood red eyes, while the monsters around them laughed in amusement. The irony of the hunters being hunted was something that never seemed to cease the elated feeling in the monsters. They wholly enjoyed seeing their enemies being torn apart at their mercy. _"Who said role-reversal wasn't entertaining?" _Thalia thought. _"Oh yeah, _**us**_,"_ she thought bitterly. Deciding to remain silent for the moment, she forced herself to return Lycaon's ever bloody glare, doing her best to reveal no emotion. She could see in her peripheral vision that her sisters were doing just the same, ignoring the jeers of the monsters surrounding them. The hunters didn't back down when the wolves snarled and growled menacingly. It was a contest to see which side would admit weakness first, one that Thalia fully intended on winning. Before anyone could break eye contact, however, they were interrupted. By Atlas.

"Well now, what have we here? A guest? An ally? Or perhaps a simple traveller looking for a meal?" drawled the general of the titans. Thalia, at that moment, wished more than anything else to wipe the arrogant smirk off the titan's face with a good, violent, lightning covered fist of hers. Although she and the other hunters wanted to snap back at them, they knew from experience that it was unwise if they wanted any remote chance of escape. No one broke yet, so the chance of freedom, no matter how small, was still out there.

Lycaon bowed on his knee, and signalled his pack to kneel before Atlas. They did so, lowering their growls slightly in the face of a superior power. "Lord Atlas. My pack and I come before you as humble guests, seeking the comforts of your kind hospitality," said the pack leader. _"Gah, what a suck up,"_ Thalia thought with disgust. She had a feeling about why they were here though. The subtle glances Lycaon gave her were troubling hints. "We humbly ask you to provide us, your loyal allies, with your grace, my lord," continued Lycaon, still at a bowed position. He would stay that way until Atlas gave him permission to look up.

Atlas merely laughed. "Oh? Is that so? Well then, it would be rude not to grace our _loyal_ allies with some of our _special_ commodities, is it not?" he asked the monsters. They laughed alongside him, whether out of humor or fear, Thalia couldn't tell. But she did know what he was talking about.

"Oh no, my lord. You need not overexert your capabilities for us, mere travellers. No, we only require _one_ under your power to satisfy our earthly needs, my lord," said Lycaon, playing along with the titan's little charade. His constant staring at Thalia made her slightly nervous, almost sure about what he was playing at.

"Indeed?" Atlas asked, raising an eyebrow while betraying his amusement with a gruesome smile (at least in the daughter of Zeus's opinion). "Pray tell, name your need, and I shall see if I can provide it."

Lycaon lifted slightly from his position, and now blatantly stared at Thalia. Giving off a slightly insane and bloody grin, he said "The daughter of Zeus, my lord, if that is acceptable." He said it as if he was already sure of the answer. The hunters instantly struggled against their bonds, and to be restrained by a yanking of their chains. Thalia herself did not feel a need to squirm. To do so would reveal fear, and therefore weakness. She was honestly expecting this some time soon, seeing how many people and monsters were already on her enemy list. That wasn't even mentioning her family's. Besides, they'd seen what happened to their sisters. It was always the same, struggle or no struggle. In the end, they all went missing, no one came back. But the monsters did. Covered in blood. That didn't stop her sisters from fighting against their captors, even if it ended in their torture.

Atlas huffed for a bit and after a moment's hesitation, said "Reasonable. She was the one who _killed_ you, was she not?" smirked Atlas. He watched with no small amount of amusement as the pack leader's face twisted into a controlled, rageful expression. If anything, Lycaon looked ready to tear his 'lord's' throat out. Then again, he always looked that way. He purposely mocked Lycaon for his defeat at the hands of a demigod, a child of his maker nonetheless. "Very well, it sounds fair to me that your pack deserves this one. An eye for an eye as the saying goes, I believe," finished Atlas. He and the monsters ignored the shouts of anger and rebellion from hunters. The lead dracanae hissed at them and raised her whip, ready to crack down on the hunters. Thalia saw this and, not wanting to see her sisters harmed under her honor, intervened. Raising her head slightly, she instantly caused a silence to fall upon her hunters and the monsters around. Atlas saw this. "Well, child of Zeus? Do you have something to say?" he asked, genuinely curious as to what she would say in the face of her predicament.

Glancing up at her Mistress under the skies, she made eye contact with her for just a split moment, but that was all that was needed to pass their meaning between them. Even under the weight of the sky, Thalia could clearly see her patron's expression. The look in Artemis's eyes was full of pain, not wishing for any more of her huntress's to leave, even more so for her lieutenant. But Thalia's eyes were full of determination. If she had to die, then she would go out in a hunting fashion. In the back of her mind, she had a ever-so-small thought that this would maybe cause her father to think twice about her, and not take her for granted as he did for all these years. While she held nothing but love and care for her little brother, she could not help but feel slightly jealous that her father reacted in such a way to _his_ death. What did she get? A freaking pine tree, that's what. Shaking her head to clear these thoughts, she looked straight at Atlas in the eyes, and spoke up.

"Bring it."

Her hunters instantly rounded on her, saying things revolving around "Don't be stupid, stay here, we'll protect you," and stuff like that. Thalia couldn't help but inwardly roll her eyes. Couldn't they see that she was a lost cause? Sure, she planned on going down fighting herself, but they couldn't stop the monsters from taking her. The monsters, on the other hand, laughed at her. They always found it enjoyable when their prey fought back. They saw it as entertainment. The hunters saw it as the will to survive.

Atlas and Lycaon merely smiled. In truth, they felt a grudgingly small amount of respect for the daughter of Zeus. She was still willing to fight until the end. How foolish of her.

"Very well," Atlas chuckled. "You've made your choice, huntress." Turning back to Lycaon, he asked "Would you like it freshly caught, or would you prefer it gift wrapped and bow-tied?" Everyone in the vicinity knew the answer.

"I'll catch her myself," Lycaon grinned. Even as he said that, Thalia could swear that his eyes turned a darker shade of red. Standing up straight, he gave a small look at his snarling pack. "I will hunt this prey _alone_," he commanded, emphasizing the last word. The wolves seemed to grudgingly accept this, and backed off ever so slightly. "Shall we start?" he asked, the blood lust evident in his tone. He could not wait to taste the child's flesh and blood again. He clearly remembered the sample he acquired from their last battle thirteen years ago, and he absolutely loved it. He could hardly control himself from pouncing on her and ripping her apart on the spot. But he restrained himself, knowing that the enjoyment of hunting her would be worth the waiting.

Atlas accepted this and turned to the monsters guarding Thalia. "Release her. Remember, no funny tricks, or..." he trailed off, giving a glance at the other hunters. Thalia positively snarled at him, which only served to make him chuckle even more. If they even touched her sisters, she would be the one to send them back to Tartarus. For the moment though, the monsters seemed content on letting the entertainment of the night go and face her enemy. Through all the sneers, growls, shouts, and jabs, Thalia kept on her silent facade. She knew once she was let loose, the other hunters would be taken up to Artemis, purposely allowing them watch both their mistress in pain as well as the contestant. A rather cruel way of giving a break from their constant labor.

Rubbing her wrists from the chain cuffs, Thalia stood straight up and examined her reborn enemy for the first time clearly. _"Yup, still the same old, blood thirst werewolf,"_ Thalia cynically thought. Lycaon, seeing her stare at him, offered no words or actions other than a gleaming smile. He finally would have revenge against Zeus for cursing him this way, and he would start out by devouring his currently oldest child. _"Revenge. It will be so sweet... and delicious,"_ Lycaon thought, inwardly grinning that insane smile of his. The monsters all backed off from the wolf and hunter (or hunter and prey, whichever way you preferred to look at it). There was always a understanding amongst all of them that whoever the participants of the hunt were, it would be their own fight; no one else should intervene.

"Well," started Atlas, "You two may begin as you wish. I personally will be getting a better view," he said, looking up towards his former imprisonment spot. His voice was almost giddy, so excited to see Zeus's child to be eaten alive.

Thalia made no move of recognition to Atlas's words. Lycaon, however stepped forward. Interestingly enough, through all of this, the falling star through the sky continued to shed its glow upon the mountain. Thalia, once again, felt oddly encouraged by this. It wasn't as if she felt it could deliver her from fate, but it gave her a feeling of peace. She was going to die, and that was it. And she was fine with that. She could even swear that the 'falling star' shed a tear of light for her, falling somewhere off in the distance. "Well, daughter of Zeus, we meet again," Lycaon finally said.

"Lycaon. It's so great to see you again," Thalia said with false cheerfulness. "How was your time in Tartarus?"

Lycaon dropped his insane smile and growled. "You were lucky then. This time, though, I will have your flesh. As I recall, it tasted sooo delicious," said the wolf. Thalia gave a ever so slight grimace, remembering the pain and blood from last time. She still had the scars. "However, I feel rather jovial today," said Lycaon. Thalia nearly laughed outright. Jovial? Some vocabulary from the big, bad wolf. Lycaon seemed to sense her amusement and snarled loudly. "Don't push your luck, child. My generous mood will not last long with you," he growled out.

"And I suppose it existed in the first place?" smirked Thalia. She knew it wasn't wise to taunt a physically superior foe in her situation, but she really couldn't help but make the jab.

Once again, Lycaon snarled and growled, his canines protruding from his mouth a bit this time. "I would not be making the taunts in your position, child of Zeus," he said in a tone with obviously forced control. "However I am willing to put aside your disrespect for the moment. As we are both hunters, I feel obligated to hunt you down fairly," he spit out. Thalia instantly was put on her guard. Did he just say 'fairly'? That didn't even make sense, coming out of a monster. "I will give you half a minute in advance to be on the run," he smiled, "before I go in there and hunt you down," he gestured toward the forest to Thalia's side. "Your time starts _now_," he finished.

Thalia's eyes widened at this. Glaring at the werewolf for one second, she cursed out a quick "fuck you" before sprinting into the woods.

* * *

><p>Nature sometimes sucked, even Thalia, the lieutenant of the hunt, admitted that. It was possibly one of the worst scenarios for her to be in. A blood thirst, insane werewolf hunting her, in the middle of a dark forest with little light to see, no idea where to go, and on top of that, no weapons. Hearing a howl in the distance not too far off, Thalia gave a small curse under her breath before continuing her... whatever it was. Running? Escape? Delaying the inevitable? She herself didn't know. She just felt to need to stay alive for a little longer. Leaping for a branch above her, she grabbed it and swung her legs to the next branch, briefly running on that one before jumping onto another one, and so on. She didn't really know where she was going, just as long as it was away from the sounds of that bloody wolf. It was hard to see in the dim lighting, as even the falling star finally sank somewhere over the horizon. Given the lack of a rumble, it probably fell into the sea. Stumbling slightly, Thalia quickly corrected herself before continuing the process of jumping through the trees. The environment and little (sometimes big) noises around her were starting to make her paranoid. With every little rustle, the adrenaline in her blood would spike, thinking that Lycaon was close. At one point, she could swear to the Styx that something positively plowed through the trees into the ground, but she couldn't be sure. She intended to stay far away as possible from the damn wolf, which was why she took to the tree tops. How long was it since she started running like the prey from the predator? Five minutes maybe? An hour? Her ADHD brain really couldn't tell. Between that, Lycaon, and her lungs gasping for breath, Thalia found the strain in her muscles to be an additional nuisance as she carried on. She couldn't afford to stop now, she had to keep moving before he caught up. Perhaps she was hopefully making her way out of the Garden of the Hesperides, slowly but surely. If she could get out, then maybe she could send word for rescue. That is, if her fellow sisters weren't killed by then. A sudden growl howl _very_ close by forced her out of her thought processes. Pausing just a moment, Thalia tried to pinpoint in which direction that sound emitted from, so as to get away from there as fast as possible. It proved to a painful mistake.

Without warning, the tree she was currently on suddenly gave way to gravity. Taken by surprise, Thalia barely had any time to act before she fell fifteen feet to the ground. Timing her jump, she leaped off the last second possible and landed on the ground with a roll. Turning around, she saw the unmistakable red eyes of Lycaon. He didn't seem to be in any rush to kill her, which was odd. She supposed that he was probably enjoying the hunt too much to end it right now. Not that she was complaining. Quickly scrambling to her feet, Thalia sprinted off in the opposite direction Lycaon was in. She swore again as she heard his now annoying chuckling, and again as she heard the rustle of the ground as he gave chase. Thalia leapt to the side as she barely had time to react as a wolfish face came out of nowhere and nearly bit her neck off. Still sprinting as fast as she could, she had to dodge a second time as a claw emerged from the blackness beside her. This repeated several more time. It was clear Lycaon was just toying with her before putting any effort into killing her. _"Didn't your mother tell you not to play with your food?" _Thalia distantly thought before tripping over something and landing face-first. Given the sudden pain in her ankle, she probably twisted or sprained it. Actually, it was a miracle to avoid tripping on anything at all until this point, so Thalia really couldn't complain. Well, besides to werewolf about to kill her. Without thinking and out of habit, Thalia turned around and reached towards her foot to pull a hunting knife out of her boot, grabbing the handle and bringing to upwards facing Lycaon. That is, before remembering she was unarmed. So how in Hades was it that she felt like she was still holding a weapon? Shaking her head slightly to clear her vision, Thalia had to blink twice before coming to a conclusion that it was not the mist messing with her, nor any other hallucination. There, gripped in her hand, was a handgun. The ADHD part of Thalia was shouting to her logical part that this was possibly the biggest 'WTF' moment in her life, even more so then when she discovered her Greek heritage. However, she wasn't complaining. She finally had a weapon to defend herself with. She knew it probably didn't have silver bullets, but hey, it at least stopped Lycaon from coming any closer than his current fifteen foot distance away from her. Using this moment to crawl into a more upright position and catch her breath, Thalia had a good look of her surroundings. For some, inexplicable reason beyond her, was a container _full_ of weapons, military most likely if the looks were anything to go by. She looked back up at the looming figure of Lycaon. They just stared at each other for gods know how long before the silence was broken by Lycaon's demented laughing.

"Do you honestly think that a mortal weapon will be able to kill me?" he said, slightly screaming. It wasn't exactly a full-moon night, so he wasn't in his complete werewolf form, but that didn't stop the insanity from creeping into his voice. Point aside, Thalia knew he was probably right and he knew it as well. Aiming the pistol at him was nothing more than a bluff. Anything short of a silver weapon would not be able to harm him. Out of the three divine metals in a demigod's arsenal, celestial bronze, imperial gold, and silver, only one of those could stop him. Why would a mortal gun, strange as it was, have a chance at stopping the insane werewolf dead?

Still grinning insanely, Lycaon began to walk towards her casually, as if it was a stroll through the park. Thalia did her best to crawl away, but she knew she wasn't going anywhere. Stumbling upright, she held the gun in one hand, using the other to help herself up. Lycaon laughed again at her efforts, something that was starting to annoy Thalia.

"You'd be better off giving up, spawn of Zeus. You have nowhere to go, and you are clearly outmatched by me!" This time, Lycaon positively shouted those words. Neither Thalia nor Lycaon, so engrossed in his monologue, noticed the moving shadow behind them.

Thalia did her best to snarl back with poison. Hard to do when one is utterly exhausted from cruel labor, running for what seemed like an eternity, and on the verge of death. "Fuck off, you overgrown mutt!" she shouted back.

That seemed to be the last straw of disrespect for Lycaon, because the moment those words left Thalia's mouth, he leapt into the air towards her. Time seemed to slow down around them. Thalia, out of desperation, raised the gun in her hand...

...pulled the trigger...

...and found it stuck.

The moment she felt it unmoving, time seemed to speed up again. Lycaon landed right next to her, slapping the gun away from her left hand, sending it flying off into the darkness. Thalia could not help but feel hopeless. No hero to save her now. Nothing to save her now. Before she knew it, a clawed hand gripped her throat and began lifting her upwards.

Choking, Thalia forced herself in her last moments to stare at her enemy in the eye. Grinning, Lycaon threw her into a tree across from them with no small amount of force. Thalia felt some of her ribs break on impact as she gasped for air when she slammed against the tree trunk. Again, she felt the clawed hand grab her neck and hoist her upwards. She could barely bring herself to look down into the blood red eyes of Lycaon. She was in so much pain and exhaustion. The lack of oxygen going to her lungs didn't make things easier, as she felt the edges of her vision begin to go blurry. She could still hear Lycaon's mocking words clearly though.

"Who will save you now, little hunter?" he growled in delight. "I will enjoy feasting on your flesh, daughter of the skies." he said before drawing his other claw back, poised for the fatal strike. If Thalia even tried to use her electrical powers, his nerves would contract and in turn cause his claws to squeeze and pierce right into her arteries in her neck.

Thalia couldn't help it when her eyes began to tear up. Hundreds of regrets began to fill her head. She would never be able to say goodbye to her family. She would never say how much she loved her sisters and friends, how much the life of a hunter really meant to her. She would never see any of them again. And worst of all, she would never be able to apologize. For everything she did wrong. _I'm sorry, Percy. Maybe I'll see you in the afterlife, maybe not. Just... forgive us. I'm so sorry, Perce. So sorry. Please forgive us._

The darkness soon started to overwhelm her. With her last pleading thoughts of forgiveness, a tear slid down her cheek. She could faintly hear Lycaon's horrid laugh in the distance, before the lack of oxygen started creating spots before her eyes. Then, suddenly, there was nothing.

She felt the ground on her hands and knees. The oxygen soon flooded back into her lungs, giving her the sense of feeling again. For a moment though, she could not get her bearings. All she felt was the lack of oxygen and the painful sensation on her throat. Trying to gasp for air proved futile, as Lycaon seemed to have no caution nor gentleness when grabbing her. From the pain, it felt like he nearly crushed her throat into pulp. But that was okay for the moment. The pain let her know she was still alive, still fighting for the chance of freedom, chance of redemption. Gagging slightly Thalia lifted her head a little and came face to face with a wolvish face, lingering a shocked expression on its face. Repulsed by what was obviously a dead corpse, Thalia quickly scrambled backwards. To her confusion, Lycaon's body lay there, bleeding out on the ground for a moment, before slowly disintegrating into golden dust right under Thalia's eyes. She was in shock. How...? She finally summoned the willpower to look up.

Straight at the seven foot armored giant with a bloody knife in its hand. She summed up her thoughts out loud in one word.

"Fuucckk."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay, now that the chapter is over, allow me to begin my bitching. If you do not wish to hear it, please scroll down to the n****ext paragraph for your convenience. Anyways, yes, I did not update this fic for a month. I have my reasons. Yes, I understand some of your frustrations, I probably have the same reactions to delayed updates. Problem was, I had a massive buttload of work to do in the month of March. I had:**

** 1)Personal project presentations (I'm an IB student. If you don't know what that means, it's basically a graduation project)**

** 2) a site-visit to a boarding school that I'm interested in going to (no, it's not as bad as it sounds. Although I cannot disclose the name due to privacy, let me assure you IT IS FRIGGIN AWESOME. They only accept a few applicants per year though, so wish me luck!)**

** 3)** **Final swim meet of the short course season. (yeah, I swim)**

**4) Bloody homework. Seriously, I think spring time is the age where everything becomes alive again and strikes back at the students. *sigh* I hate school so much.**

**So yeah, those are few of the things that prevented me from writing another chapter. I know I said I'd try to keep up on a weekly basis, but given my teachers' warnings of the increase in schoolwork coming up, that's unlikely. I tried making it up a little in this chapter by doubling the usual length, but if your like me, then I know that's probably unsatisfactory. Luckily, however, spring break for me is next week, which mean more time for writing. Huzzah.  
><strong>

**Oh yeah, and happy early Easter to all of you!**

**P.S. have you guys heard of the band _EarlyRise_? They're relatively new, but they sound amazing. Recommend you check it out. No, I have nothing to do with them, I guarantee you.**


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